Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Réaumur, René Antoine Ferchault de rāˈəmyo͝or, Fr. rənāˈ äNtwänˈ fĕrshōˈ də rāōmürˈ [key], 1683–1757, French physicist and naturalist. He invented an alcohol thermometer (1731) a...

(Encyclopedia) Spinks, Leon, Jr. 1953-2021, American boxer, b. St. Louis, Mo. Spinks began boxing at age 13, dropping out of high school in his junior year to join the...

(Encyclopedia) Ekurhuleni, metropolitan municipality, Gauteng prov., NE South Africa. Ekurhuleni largely encompasses the East Rand region of Gauteng. Germiston is the ...

(Encyclopedia) Georgetown, city (1985 est. pop. 75,000), capital and largest city of Guyana, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Demerara River. It was known as Stabroek when the Dutch controlled the region an...

(Encyclopedia) grayling, common name for a brilliantly colored fish belonging to the genus Thymallus, of the family Salmonidae (salmon family), and closely allied to the smelt. Graylings are found chiefly in clear, ...

(Encyclopedia) Frazier, Joe (William Joseph Frazier), 1944–2011, African-American boxer, b. Beaufort, S.C. Known for a brawling style and devastating left hook, “Smokin' Joe” won Olympic gold in 1964 and turne...

(Encyclopedia) neutrino astronomy, study of stars by means of their emission of neutrinos, fundamental particles that result from nuclear reactions and are emitted by stars along with light. Approximately 100 billio...

(Encyclopedia) Ponce de León, Juan pŏns də lēˈŏn, Span. hwän pōnˈthā dā lāōnˈ [key], c.1460–1521, Spanish explorer, first Westerner to reach Florida. He served against the Moors of Granada, and in 14...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 South Dakota dəkōˈtə [key], state in the N central United States. It is bordered by North Dakota (N), Minnesota and Iowa (E), Nebraska (S), and Wyoming and Montana (W). ...

(Encyclopedia) Atahualpa ätäwälˈpä [key], d. 1533, favorite son of Huayna Capac, Inca of Peru. At his father's death (1525) he received the kingdom of Quito while his half-brother, the legitimate heir Huáscar,...